Horizon League announces 2010-11 men's basketball tv schedule
INDIANAPOLIS --- Thirty-five Horizon League men’s basketball games, including twenty-four regular-season conference games, comprise the 2010-11 schedule to be telecast nationally and regionally, the League announced Friday (Sept. 3). All ten League teams will make an appearance on the ESPN family of networks.
Highlighting the package is the rematch of the 2010 NCAA championship game between Butler and Duke. ESPN will carry that game from the IZOD Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on Dec. 4. Butler, the defending League champion and national runner-up, also will be featured against Stanford on Dec. 18. CBS will telecast that game from Hinkle Fieldhouse.
ESPN also will air Butler road games at Louisville on Nov. 16 and at Xavier on Dec. 9.
Highlighting League games will be Detroit’s visit to Butler on Feb. 12. ESPN2 will carry the game that pits the Bulldogs against Coach Ray McCallum and his son and incoming freshman, McDonald’s All-American Ray McCallum.
The McCallums also will be featured in another unique game at Central Michigan where Coach Ernie Zeigler welcomes his son, Trey, onto the roster. ESPNU will air that game on Dec. 18.
Also featured will be Wright State’s season-opening game at Indiana that will air on ESPNU on Nov. 14 and Purdue at Valparaiso that will air on ESPNU on Dec. 7.
ESPN2 and ESPNU will also air two wildcard games on Sat. Feb. 5. ESPN will select which two games to air in mid-January and will decide which game will air on ESPN2 and which game will air on ESPNU.
The Horizon League Network schedule of eight games begins Jan. 8 with Detroit’s visit to UIC and will feature each of the 10 League schools at least once during the season.
“We are delighted with the amount of national and regional exposure Horizon League teams will receive through these various platforms,” said Commissioner Jon LeCrone. “We anticipate we will have a highly competitive League this year. This is a great opportunity for our student-athletes, men’s basketball programs, and our fans.”
The League’s ESPNU and ESPN3.com schedule will tip-off with four Friday night double-headers starting with Cleveland State at Butler and Youngstown State at Valparaiso on Jan. 7. Butler at Detroit and Valparaiso at Wright State will be aired on Jan. 14; followed by Green Bay at Butler and Milwaukee at Valparaiso on Jan. 21. Detroit at Milwaukee and Wright State at Green Bay will close out the Friday night wildcard games on Jan. 28. ESPN will decide two weeks out which game will air on ESPNU and which one will air on ESPN3.com.
Rounding out ESPNU’s regular season coverage is Wright State at Butler on Thursday Feb. 10 and Detroit at Wright State on Friday, Feb. 25.
ESPN3.com will also air the following additional games: Butler at Milwaukee on Monday, Jan. 3, Butler at Green Bay on Tuesday, Feb. 15, and Loyola at UIC Wednesday, Feb. 16.
ESPNU will air the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship semifinals Saturday, March 5, and the Women’s Basketball Championship Sunday, March 13. The Men’s Basketball Championship remains in its usual spot on Tuesday, March 8 at 9 p.m. on ESPN. All games on ESPN and ESPN2 also will be simulcast on ESPN3.com.
The League’s HLN Game of the Week schedule includes: Detroit at UIC on Jan. 8, Loyola at Milwaukee on Jan. 15, Wright State at Cleveland State on Jan. 22 and Butler at Valparaiso on Jan. 29. The ESPN wildcard game scheduled for Feb. 5 will determine whether Loyola at Detroit or Green Bay at Milwaukee will be aired on HLN. Continuing in February is Youngstown State at Cleveland State on the 12th, Butler at UIC on the 19th and Green Bay at Cleveland State on the 26th. HLN games will be aired at 2:00 p.m. ET in each of the Horizon League’s local markets.
About the Horizon League Entering its 32nd season of operation in the 2010-11 academic year, the Horizon League continues to aspire toward its goal of being one of the nation’s leading athletics conferences while being recognized as a leader in the development of student-athletes as leaders and role models. The Horizon League membership features ten public and private institutions that have impressive academic reputations and a storied tradition of broad-based athletic programs. Current membership includes Butler University, Cleveland State University, the University of Detroit Mercy, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Loyola University Chicago, Valparaiso University, the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wright State University and Youngstown State University. The Horizon League’s primary focus is on adding value to the educational experience through its four platforms: athletic performance, academic achievement, community outreach, and personal responsibility and accountability. About ESPN, ESPNU, ESPN3.com ESPN, Inc., is the world’s leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company comprises six 24-hour domestic television networks (ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNEWS, ESPNU, ESPN Classic, ESPN Deportes) and ESPN 3D, an event-based network. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNEWS HD are simulcast services. Other businesses include ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (46 networks, syndication, radio, websites), ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN3.com (broadband sports network) ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises, ESPN PPV and other growing new businesses, including ESPN on Demand and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, Conn., ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
